Fortunately, my blog isn’t sentient (not yet, at least), which means it doesn’t have feelings and therefore can’t be offended that I forgot it turns THREE YEARS OLD today.

But that being said, I still want to celebrate, since three years blogging is definitely nothing to sneeze at. Since this is super last minute (thanks, final exams), I’ll keep it short, but stay tuned for the giveaway at the end!

Like this:

Anyone who’s ever written anything has probably sat down in front of their computer or notebook, all set to write, when they suddenly realize there’s a big problem – they’ve got nothing. All the ideas decided to flee the country as soon as they saw that blank page.

The typical solution is to just start writing anyway, even if it’s slow and painful at first. Even if you have to force the words out of your brain and onto the page, before you know it, writer’s block is a thing of the past.

At least, that’s usually what happens. But when writer’s block comes back day after day and the thought of sitting down to create something makes you feel hollow instead of joyful, it might be time to consider a different approach.

Like this:

Just a quick blogkeeping announcement to point out some new and exciting things that are happening around Maggie’s Musings. I’m excited to tell you about them!

First of all, you may have noticed that Maggie’s Musings now has its own domain name and URL! The blog is now located at www.mmusingsblog.com, although using the www.mmusingsblog.wordpress.com address will still redirect you to the homepage. You may also see that ads have disappeared from my website, a change I am very happy about.

Third, I’ve also updated my “Writing” page (again), with new subpages for my three major writing projects at the moment. The main writing page now has a list of other places where my writing has been published, with links where possible. I hope to see this list grow in the future!

Finally, I’ve launched a public Facebook page for myself and my writing. Right now, it’s a home for my blog posts to be shared, but I also hope to use it to make writing announcements, share some of the awesome blog posts I find online, and connect with my readers. Please give it a “Like” if you want to stay updated!

As always, thanks for reading my blog and always offering such thoughtful comments and feedback! It’s been such a joy to see this blog grow, and I’m excited about all of these new changes that are taking place. I hope you love them just as much as I do!

Like this:

Lately, I’ve been thinking about Maggie’s Musings and how things could be improved. Don’t worry, there aren’t any big, drastic changes on the horizon! I’ve just been giving some thought to my content, structure, and engagement around here and looking at ways that I can improve what I have already.

Since this blog is as much for you as it is for me though, I wanted to get your input! With that in mind, I’ve designed an anonymous survey for all of you wonderful readers to let me know your thoughts, ideas, and just general impressions of Maggie’s Musings. It should only take about 10-15 minutes, and so I encourage you to take some time and share your thoughts with me!

And, if that isn’t enough incentive, I’ll also be running a GIVEAWAY in conjunction with this survey. The official terms are below, but in short, you can opt-in to win a $5 Amazon.com gift card by entering your e-mail at the end of the survey. If you don’t want to enter the giveaway, you can leave that entry blank.

I really want to make Maggie’s Musings something that’s engaging for my audience, and so I’d appreciate the feedback! The survey and giveaway will be open until MAY 18, 2018, so I’ll be posting other reminders during that time as well.

Enjoy the rest of your week, everyone, and keep reading for more information about the survey and giveaway!

Giveaway Terms & Conditions

The giveaway will open on April 18, 2018, and close at 11:59pm on May 18, 2018 EDT. One (1) winner will be chosen at random to receive one (1) $5 Amazon.com Gift Card (USD). In order to enter, visitors must complete the survey and opt-in with their e-mail address at the end of the survey.

The winner will be drawn after the close of the giveaway and contacted via e-mail by May 22. Upon confirmation, the winner will be e-mailed a digital $5 gift card for Amazon.com. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours of being e-mailed, another winner will be drawn.

Like this:

Hello everyone! This is just a quick announcement post, because a few things are going to be changing on the site temporarily. Let me explain.

Some of you may recall that last July (and the year before that), I went on a short-term missions trip to West Virginia with an organization known as Christian Endeavor. We spent a week there doing construction work to rebuild and refurbish houses for the community there.

The house we worked on last year, including the new railing for the steps and front porch.

The summer, I have the privilege of being one of C.E.’s staff interns, which means that starting this Friday (June 23), I’ll be heading out for staff training, then spending two weeks in West Virginia and two weeks in North Carolina. My role on the staff will be mainly to run the office at our “base” in each state, but I’ll also be filling in as needed depending on what tasks need to be completed each day.

Because of the busy schedule and the fact that I’ll be away from home for about five weeks, things are going to be different around here for a while. There won’t be any “Week In Review” posts, and I won’t be able to participate in the Beautiful People linkup for July. The good news is, I still have a post scheduled to go out on Monday each week. I won’t be able to respond to comments as regularly as I do, but I’ll try to stop in when I can and say hello.

I’ll be back home at the beginning of August, so I’ll go back into my regular blogging schedule then. If you’d like to, I’d really appreciate your prayers while I’m away, mostly for safe travels, the staffers (we will be spending five weeks together, after all), and for the groups that’ll be coming to do the work.

Thank you so much for your understanding and encouragement! I’ll be sure to tell you all about how it went when I get back. In the meantime, I hope your July is absolutely spectacular!

Like this:

A year ago today, I started up Maggie’s Musings as a place for me to write. I didn’t really have much of a plan in mind at the time, and to be honest, I still don’t. But over the past year, this blog has been a wonderful creative outlet for me, week in and week out.

I began this project mostly for myself, but since then, I’ve gained a sizeable following, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you for sticking around and keeping up with Maggie’s Musings! Whether you’ve been following for a few days or a few months, I’m glad you’re here.

Special shoutouts to my family for supporting me with every post (even when it was about totally random stuff, like bad book blurbs), my friends (both “in real life” and on the internet) for their encouragement, and to my fellow bloggers for inspiring me (even if you didn’t realize it).

Like this:

Today marks one year since I started up Maggie’s Musings, and in addition to the other celebrations going on around the site, I’ve compiled a list of things I’ve learned over the past year of blogging (almost) consistently. It’s been a journey for sure, and there have definitely been days when I dreaded having to write a blog post for the week. But no matter what, I love creating, and Maggie’s Musings has given me an outlet for that.

I’m certainly not an expert yet, but based on the ups and downs of blogging for a year now, here are a few things I’ve learned!